Pride and Prejudice Sept. 26-29 at Floarts

Join Mr. Darcy (Mario Guzman) and Elizabeth Bennet (Emily Topper) for all of the cleverness, charm, dancing, visiting and flirting one can expect from the beloved 200-year-old story of attraction and contempt — Pride and Prejudice. Florida School of the Arts will bring Jane Austen’s novel to life Sept. 26-29. Contributed photo

Special to the Record

Florida School of the Arts will bring to life all of the wit and romance of one of the most beloved novels of all time — Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”

Adapted by Jon Jory, the play retells the classic story of Elizabeth Bennet and her four single sisters as they deal with issues of manners, morality and marriage. Though tensions mount between the free-thinking Elizabeth Bennet and the arrogant Mr. Darcy, they cannot escape their growing attraction toward one another.

The play is appropriate for all audiences and runs at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26-28, and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Florida School of the Arts Main Stage Theatre located on the St. Johns River State College Palatka campus.

The production includes all of the cleverness, charm, dancing, visiting and flirting fans expect from the 200-year-old story of attraction and contempt.

Acting professor and play director Patricia Crotty said the period of the play (1813) presented students with several theatrical challenges, from mastering a formal and elaborate diction – all in a British accent - to dancing in three ball scenes dressed in Regency Period clothing. “It was a fun, yet very challenging script for all us,” Crotty said.

Conveying the setting of Austen’s novel also presented scenic design students and faculty with several challenges of their own. With the play moving at the speed of cinema and up to three scene changes occurring in one page of script, the set needed to be exceptionally mobile and simplistic without losing the refinement of the period. “Making a set change look easy and flowing is one of the most difficult things to achieve on stage,” Crotty said.

“It took a lot of work on everyone’s part to make the setting appear simple, elegant and flowing.”

Florida School of the Arts is part of the academic and administrative structure of SJR State and awards the two-year associate degree. The School serves the entire state of Florida is located on the SJR State Palatka campus. For more information, call 386-312-4300 or visit the Web site at www.floarts.org.